


Where the Ocean Meets the Shore

by i_saw_sparks



Category: Big Time Rush RPF
Genre: Charleston (Location), F/M, Love, Ocean, Passion, Romance, Sex, Smut, Summer, Vacation, beach, semi-charmed life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-06-17
Packaged: 2017-12-15 06:56:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/846626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_saw_sparks/pseuds/i_saw_sparks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I believe in the sand beneath my toes.<br/>The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling.<br/>I believe in the faith that grows,<br/>and the four right chords could make me cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Ocean Meets the Shore

The week was slowly drawing to a close, and Logan found that he really and truly did not want to leave.  
  
Despite visiting London, Paris, and Belgium over the course of the summer, he could wholeheartedly say that he’d had the most fun these past seven days spent along the coast of South Carolina. Truthfully, there weren’t a ton of tourist attractions or things to do, but in a way, that was a plus. Without all of the distractions, they got a chance to just be together as a couple. It was a simple need that everyone else seemed to take for granted, but for the two of them, that desire was made increasingly apparent by the months they had to spend apart. With her in college on the East Coast and him busy with his acting career in Los Angeles, every moment they had together was something sacred, and this vacation was exactly what they had needed.  
  
He’d heard Kandi reminisce about the area on several occasions over the course of their relationship, so he knew that this would be the perfect way to surprise her. For once, Logan would be the one that was thrown out of his comfort zone while she was the native, and it had been great, following her around to all of her favorite spots. They took the ferry from the island to downtown Charleston, where they spent the day exploring the city. They scavenged the tourist shops along Main Street, and while Logan wasn’t all that interested in shopping, he loved that spark she got in her deep brown eyes whenever she came across an item that she thought was perfect for someone else: a Palmetto tree beer cooler for her older brother, a yellow sweatshirt for her mom, a pair of flip-flops for her best friend. Although she hadn’t had the chance to meet them yet, Kandi even picked out things for him to take home to his family: jewelry for his mother because, in Kandi’s words, she “looked like a Southern lady” and a stylish hobo bag for his little sister. Fathers were a complete enigma to her, probably because she’d never had one and all of her friends were fatherless daughters as well.  
  
When Logan asked her why it mattered so much, she simply said, “because it’s rude to go on vacation and not bring back some souvenirs” as if it were the clearest, most obvious thing in the world. She said it in such a way that he almost felt bad for brushing the notion away as soon as she’d offered. That was just how Kandi was; she was all about unspoken rules and what she felt like was “expected” of her. It was a stress that was buried in her bones, so much a part of her that she didn’t know how to live without that pressure. He could hear it tug at her voice during those late night phone calls when she was slumped over one of her textbooks, her head pounding and her eyes tired, so desperate to make everything click even though her heart just wasn’t in it anymore.  
  
She’d never admit it, but deep down, he knew she just wanted to please everyone around her, but it was an impossible feat.  
  
Logan didn’t expect anything from her; he just loved her. So many times he wanted to tell her that, but he couldn’t get his lips to form the words.  
  
The two of them spent the rest of that day checking out all of the sites that Kandi claimed he just had to see if he wanted to get the full coastal Carolina experience. They walked through the old slave market, and while Kandi was preoccupied waiting for one of the children to finish weaving a basket for Logan, he snuck over to the next booth and bought her a ring. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a simple brushed silver ring with a tiny turquoise inlay in the shape of a heart, but when he saw that ring, something about its delicate simplicity reminded him of her. He’d kept he ring buried in the bottom of his suitcase for the rest of the week, tucked away beneath his dirty clothes, but now it rested in his pocket, ready and waiting for the perfect moment. Logan thought it would be best if he saved it for when they were about to leave. It would be more of a surprise that way, or at least he thought it would be.  
  
The basket-weaving boy gave her a free rose, and Logan tucked the woven flower in her loose waves. She’d kept it there for the rest of the day.  
  
That night they went on a ghost tour, something she had always wanted to do, and even though it wasn’t unsettling in the slightest, Kandi squeezed his hand so hard that he lost the sensation in his fingers. That night was also the first time Logan had ever tried fried green tomatoes.  
  
Though they took day trips to Charleston and Mount Pleasant, most of the week had been spent on the stretch of beach just outside of their hotel or holed up in their hotel room, making use of every inch of the space as they rediscovered each other’s bodies.  
  
If he had his way, he’d stay there with her forever.  
  
Now it was their last day on the coast, and neither of them could think of a better way to spend it than on the beach.  
  
Kandi’s arm was hooked in the crook of his elbow, her hand shoved into the pocket of her favorite denim cutoffs. The shorts were frayed along the edges, ripped along the thighs from constant wear, but she just couldn’t bring herself to part with them. They were the most comfortable shorts she owned, and she was too sentimental for her own good.  
  
They’d been walking down the shoreline for at least an hour, so far that the hotels and beach houses were blurs of color in the distance and Logan’s legs were beginning to feel like they were made of jello. But he didn’t care because he relished the comfortable silence that fell between them. It was so peaceful, getting away from all the other beachgoers, the annoying sounds of loud children and teenage girls laughing replaced by the lulling churn of the waves. It was then that he realized that this was the first time he’d ever just walked along the beach with her. Usually she was too busy searching out seashells whenever they went out for a stroll in the sand.  
  
Logan could feel the ocean lick at his bare feet, and though he wanted so badly to hear her voice, he couldn’t think of anything to say. It was almost as if, over the course of the week, they’d talked so much about anything and everything under the sun that they’d run out of words to say.  
  
Kandi was the first to break the silence. “Do you wanna find a place to sit down?”  
  
He answered her as if it were a sigh of relief. “Yeah.”  
  
But she was very particular about where she wanted to rest. She wanted to be close enough to the ocean that she could dip her toes in, but not so close that she would get wet, so they settled for a spot where the tide barely lapped at the shore. Logan dug his toes into the sand and let the shallow waves break against his shins.  
  
Squinting against the sun, he could barely make out her features, but he could still watch her loose chestnut waves get tousled by the salty sea breeze.  
  
“I don’t wanna go home,” she confessed as she leaned back onto her forearms.  
  
Logan tried to stay focused on the positive. “It’s been one hell of a week,” he said, cracking a grin.  
  
“Yeah.” A wistful sigh pushed past her lips, but she was quick to force the enthusiasm back into her voice. “We should do this more often, ya know? Go on vacation, just the two of us. I feel like I never get to see you anymore.” Kandi doodled their initials in the sand with her finger as she spoke.  
  
Logan wanted to tell her that they _would_ do this again, that he’d love to have her there with him all the time, but he knew that, in reality, it just wasn’t practical. This was the way things had to be for right now.  
  
“You could always move back to L.A. We could get our own place together.”  
  
Even hidden behind her oversized tortoiseshell sunglasses, he knew the look she was giving him all too well. “You know I have to stay in South Carolina for school. I lose my scholarships if I go out of state.”  
  
“I could help you out with school,” he said the words softly, but he meant them. “I just wanna be with you.”  
  
She was watching the waves wash in, hugging her knees to her chest. “I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t accept that from you.” There it was again, her and her unspoken rules.  
  
“But why not, Kandi?” His frustration seeped through his tone. “You know I wouldn’t offer it if I didn’t mean it. It’s not like I would hold it over your head or anything like that. You know that’s not me.”  
  
“I know,” she began. “I’m just worried that…if something happens with us…”  
  
He rolled his coffee-colored eyes. “Something’s going to happen with us if we never get to see each other. I’m so sick of this long-distance bullshit.” The frustration he kept hidden so well was now bursting at the seams of his voice, the emotion inescapable.  
  
Logan wished he could take back the words as soon as he said them. Though he couldn’t see her eyes, he could still see the hurt embedded in her features. The corner of her lip twitched before her face became completely still. She was trying so hard not to show any trace of emotion, but there was a crack in the mortar, and he caught a stray tear rolling down her cheekbone.  
  
He inched closer to her, easing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to his chest, and he could feel her muscles tense as she silently debated whether or not she should push him away. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I know I shouldn’t have said it, but you know I love you. I just want to be with you, that’s it. I’m tired of us always being apart.”  
  
Logan pushed her sunglasses back so he could look her in the eye. He’d never been one for grand romantic gestures, but he couldn’t stand to see that disappointment in her eyes. “Just you and me, that’s all I want. I want all of you, forever. Every single fucking inch of you. So you shouldn’t have any doubts.” He reached into the pocket of his khaki shorts and fished out the ring, still in its tiny Ziploc baggie. “See, I got this for you, back at the market.”  
  
As he held the ring out in front of her, carefully positioned between his index finger and his thumb, Logan swore he could see the first few hints of a smile on her face. She wanted so badly to see the best in him because it had been so hard for her to get this far, to shake her fear of commitment and the trust issues so that she could love him with no holds barred.  
  
“What’s this?” There was still a waver in her voice as she took the ring, sliding it onto her right ring finger.  
  
“Well, I saw it when we were back at the market, and it just reminded me of you.”  
  
“And you waited until _now_ to give it to me?”  
  
It was the worst possible moment, and Logan was aware of that, but it was worth ruining the surprise just to see her smile.  
  
He could only nod as he tried to bite back the laughter threatening to burst out. Logan didn’t want to laugh, especially after he had just been so harsh to her, but the expression on her face was priceless.  
  
“You gave me that keychain,” he replied, thinking back to the conch shell keychain resting on the dresser back in the hotel room. “So it was the least I could do.”  
  
Kandi smiled to herself as she glanced down at the ring on her finger.  
  
“Plus an amazing girl once told me that it’s rude to go on vacation and not bring something back.”  
  
“Hmm, I wonder who that could be…” She let her hand rest on his thigh. “Well, it’s perfect.”  
  
“Well, I’m glad you like it,” Logan replied, mimicking her tone as laughter began to seep through his voice.  
  
His lips brushed against the tearstain streaked down her cheek, and as he began to pull away, she reached over, pushing his Wayfarers out of his face before she leaned forward to kiss him. The kiss was soft and gentle at first, but when the time came for him to pull away, the simple task seemed unthinkable to Logan. Instead, he kissed her harder, his lips providing even more pressure as his fingers began to play in her hair. There was a desperation in the kiss; he needed to reassure her that, although he was frustrated with their situation, he had nothing but love to give to her.  
  
When the kiss came to a close, Kandi’s gaze flickered towards the ocean. “I think it’s about time for high tide. Maybe we should start heading back to the hotel.”  
  
But Logan didn’t have an answer for her, he just leaned in for another kiss, letting the tip of his tongue flick along the seam of her lips until they eventually parted. He refused to hold anything back because he knew that this was one of the last chances he’d get before the two of them were separated by an entire country. He wasn’t the best at expressing himself through words, but the passion that burned through his lips was enough to get the message across.  
  
Her motions proved that she felt the same way, her fingers raking through his dark hair, grasping at his scalp as her lips enveloped his. Logan caught whiffs of her honeysuckle perfume as her hair began to trickle over her shoulder, slowly falling in his face. The tip of her nose brushed against his cheek, and he could feel her tongue trail along the roof of his mouth before she broke away. Logan clung to her, gently tugging at her lower lip as she pulled away.  
  
His fingers wove into the spaces between hers, lightly pulling her hand as he shifted onto his back. The suggestion buried in his chocolate bedroom eyes spoke volumes, his teeth digging into his plush bottom lip as his gaze drifted down her frame so unabashedly.  
  
For the first time, he caught something like coyness in the flush of her cheeks, but regardless of her hint of hesitation, she obliged and straddled his hips, letting her forearms support her weight as she stretched out above him.  
  
Kandi tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pushed her bangs from her face. “Really? Here?” Her honey-colored eyes darted around nervously, checking to see if the coast was clear.  
  
Quite frankly, Logan didn’t give a fuck.  
  
“Mhm,” he murmured, keeping his eyes closed against the midday sun, but he could still feel her hesitation. “Don’t worry about it. No one’s around, we’re too far out.”  
  
The rush of her perfume fell over him as she leaned forward to kiss him, her lips curving against his as she smiled into the kiss.  
  
“What is it?” he whispered, his lips still brushing against hers. Hushed laughter hid beneath the question.  
  
“Nothing,” she replied, keeping her voice low as her eyes tilted upward, avoiding his stare as she continued. “I just never took you for an exhibitionist.”  
  
Lacking any sort of clever response to fire back at her, Logan could only laugh as her lips began to stray, lightly kissing the patch of skin below his ear before they coursed down his flesh, tracing the same tried-and-true path down to the crook of his neck. He could feel her breath, warm and shallow, against his skin, and he let his mouth gape open as her touch ventured further, her fingertips tiptoeing down his torso. She pushed his tank up, and Logan could feel the cool breeze wash over his stomach, but he still kept his eyes closed. It wasn’t until she tugged impatiently at the striped gray cotton that his eyes fluttered open.  
  
“Take your shirt off,” Kandi whispered sharply, but the smirk that tugged at the corner of her lip took some of the edge off.  
  
Logan did as he was told, sitting up and easing the loose-fitted fabric up his back and over his head. As he tossed the tank top onto the sand, he could feel Kandi’s eyes on him. His gaze drifted to meet hers; a dark eyebrow rose against fair skin.  
  
“I really like your hair like this,” she confessed, letting her fingers run through the soft tufts of espresso hair. “Without all the gel. All soft and sexy and shit. I don’t like it when you shave the sides. Makes you look like a real Hollywood douche.”  
“A Hollywood douche?”  
  
“Mhm.”  
  
“Nice to know what you really think of me.”  
  
He rolled his eyes and let his thumb rub little circles into the hollow of her hipbone through the denim. She planted a quick kiss on the tip of his nose before picking up where she’d left off. Her lips pressed against the ridge of his collarbone before moving on, leaving a trail of soft kisses down the planes of his chest, tracing the barely defined muscles of his stomach before coming to rest just below his navel. Her teeth grazed the sensitive skin, and Logan could feel himself begin to stiffen as her touch ghosted across his zipper. As she settled herself between his legs, Kandi slowly unbuttoned his shorts, easing the soft fabric down his hips and thighs. Fingertips tiptoed down the thick ridge hidden beneath the thin layer of cotton, and Logan could feel that all-too-familiar swooping sensation in the pit of his gut, his tongue slipping out between his lips before his teeth clenched his plush lower lip. Syrupy eyes rolled upward, and he could lightly make out rise and dip of the sand dunes that ran up the beach, separating the beach houses from the shore. Faint blurs of cornflower blue, heathered oatmeal, and watermelon pink siding danced in his peripheral vision before he let his eyes flutter closed again. The drawn-out sound of his breaths seemed to blend into the rhythmic churn and crash of the waves, the scent of sunscreen and the sea flooding his lungs with each slow inhale.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, Logan glanced down at Kandi, watching her hands slide to his hips, her fingers hook into the waistband of his boxers. A gasp escaped his lips, and though, in the past seven days, he had become reacquainted with her touch, he had yet to feel the drag of lips along every inch of him or the way those achy sounds that spilled from her lips reverberated around him. Her eyes were wide and innocent as she met his gaze, the inevitable calm before the storm as her hands curved around the base of his cock.  
  
Kandi was right, the tide was beginning to creep further up the shoreline. He could feel the waves seep beneath his thighs, and while he expected her to jump up in a mad dash to the dry sand, she didn’t budge. Her touch followed the v of his pelvis, alternating between the wash of her tongue and the slow drag of her lips against his skin as she kept a steady hold on his dick.  
  
His hips shifted as she continued to tease him, her thumb pressing against the base of his cock as he felt the same slow drag of her lips run along the underside. The tip of her tongue flicked against the soft spot just beneath the head, and he shuddered, raking a hand through his damp locks as he let out a shaky breath. The sun felt even hotter against his fair skin, and Logan was silently grateful for the rush of cool water over his legs. Her tongue was flat against the tip of his dick, roughly lapping at it before she began to ease him into her mouth. He could feel her fingers run up the side of his cock as she inched him in further, his back subtly arching up to meet her, fighting the pull of the drenched sand beneath him. She pulled her fingers from her mouth and pushed them further between his legs, and though Logan could feel himself throb in her mouth, his hand ran down his stomach, feeling for her messy hair.  
  
“Don’t.”  
  
Without questioning him, Kandi stopped, choosing instead to hum and swallow around him. As her hand cradled his balls, her thumb massaged the soft spot between them, but it wasn’t until her hands suddenly gripped his thighs that Logan felt that clenching sensation in his stomach and sac. His hands found her hair, lightly yanking the strands as he rode the wave out, and it wasn’t until he was done that she pulled away.  
  
Logan wasn’t sure what to say, but he slowly pulled himself up, his fingers curling around her upper arms as he urged her back on top of him.  
  
“I want you,” he murmured lazily, a weak grin lingering across his lips as he raised his hips to meet hers, pressing his half-hard dick against her before his lips curled into a wince. “All sandy and sexy and shit.”  
  
She rolled those brown eyes at him once again before leaning forward to lightly kiss his forehead. “I think we better head back to the room, lover boy.”  
  
Logan sat up, still grinning at her as he spoke. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”  
  
Kandi jogged off into the water to wash the gritty sand from her knees and shins, and Logan was quick to follow her, jerking on his clothes as soon as he had gotten all the sand he possibly could off of his skin. They walked back up the beach together with their fingers intertwined and her head resting on his shoulder.  
  
“Can I just remind you that you’re amazing?” he joked, sliding his Ray-Bans back over his eyes.  
  
“Okay, so I _may_ not be very good at hiding gifts and keeping things secret, but I’m still pretty damn good with surprises.”  
  
As always, the walk back to the room seemed somehow longer than the stroll down the beach, and as soon as he closed the door behind them, Logan had to fight the urge to just let himself collapse onto the bed. The California king-sized bed that took up most of the bedroom area seemed to call to him. Still unmade, the corner of the duvet was draped across the mattress, revealing a little tempting patch of wrinkled sheets that he was dying to curl up in. All he really wanted to do was sleep the rest of the day away with her, to have the scent of her skin embedded in his dreams and the warmth of her body against his, but as soon as she noticed his brown-eyed gaze linger too long on the bed, Kandi tugged at his fingers.  
  
“Don’t even think about it.” Her light-hearted laugh seeped through her drawl. “You’ll get the sheets all gritty and nasty.”  
  
He let out an exaggerated sigh, but she didn’t pay him any attention, shedding her shorts and tossing them into her suitcase as she made her way towards the bathroom. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she raked her fingers through her waves in hopes of loosening any tangles from the wind. With the light gray tile cold against his bare feet, he snuck up behind her, slipping the neckline of the open-weave sweater down her shoulder before he pressed his lips into the crook of her neck. His hands followed her hips, slowly easing her back into him.  
  
“What’re you doing?” She giggled as his lips brushed against the sensitive skin.  
  
“Nothing,” he murmured the two syllables as his lips traced a path up to her temple. Stealing a glance at their reflections, he held her gaze as he pressed himself against her hip, and though it was only a simple nudge, it was still more than she could pretend to ignore. He could see the rosy glow rising to the surface of her cheeks, the way the corner of her lip twitched slightly as she fought back a grin, and he knew that it was all she could do to resist the urge to arch back against him.  
  
“Okay, get back, get back. Gimme some room.” Her hands brushed him away before coming to rest on the hem of her sweater. She pulled the cream-colored knit up over her shoulders before tossing it aside in the corner of the cramped hotel bathroom.  
  
Leaning back against the sink, she pulled him into a kiss, her hands cupping his cheeks as his lips pressed against hers. It was a lazy kiss, like long summer days and sleepless nights, and as her lips fumbled softly against his, Logan’s touch trailed down her sides, meandering up her back before his fingers began to gently tug at the strings of her bikini.  
  
She smiled into the kiss as she pulled away, and it seemed that no matter how many times he heard the smile in her voice while they talked on the phone or saw that same smile imprinted on her lips during their weekly Skype dates, none of it could ever compare to the way her smile felt against his lips.  
  
Kandi ducked out of the halter-top and shimmied free of the bottoms, both halves of her bikini forming a pile of coral pink fabric at her feet. She glanced back at him as she slid open the shower door, cocking an eyebrow as her gaze traveled up and down his frame.  
  
Her tone remained soft, but there was still that underlying edge of challenge in the question, as if she even had to ask. “You coming in with me?”  
  
Two pairs of brown eyes locked, bridging the short distance between them, and he offered her a stiff nod as he began to undress. There was an inherent awkwardness in the act of disrobing, and even though he’d never considered himself to be insecure, there was still that nervous flutter in the pit of his stomach that came along with putting himself on display. That tug of tension seemed to dissipate when he looked back over at her. With her knees hugged to her chest, she smiled up at him. It wasn’t a smile laved with mischief or suggestion, it was just…happiness. She was just happy to be here, in this moment, with him, and for now, that was enough. Somehow, she was able to ignore the bittersweet sinking sensation in the back of their thoughts and the issues that were still embedded in their relationship, and if she could push all of that aside, he figured he could as well.  
  
Logan watched the sandy grime from the soles of her feet spiral down the drain as he stepped in, slipping between her frame and the wall of the shower. Cradled between his legs, she was quick to lean back into his chest, her head lolling back against his shoulder as her lips grazed his jaw.  
  
“So what do you wanna do for dinner?” she asked casually. As she spoke, Kandi massaged his knee, and he watched her fingers slowly knead the joint.  
  
“It doesn’t matter to me. We’ve already ate at all the places around here, and I don’t really feel like driving half an hour away.”  
  
“That’s fine, we could just stay in tonight. I think that pizza place across the street delivers to the hotel.” Honey-brown eyes glanced up at him for reassurance.  
  
“Sounds perfect.”  
  
They were both silent for a moment, and Logan closed his eyes, listening to the sound of water streaming from the showerhead, droplets trickling like rain against the shower floor and water splattering off his knees into his face. He could feel his breathing slow as he began to unwind, and for once, he could say he was truly at peace. With the dull heat from her body and the gentle cascade of water against his skin lulling him into a state of utter relaxation, Logan was able to let all of his doubts and all of the stress buried in his bones fall to the wayside, his concentration redirected towards counting every rise and fall of his chest.  
  
Unfortunately, his girlfriend was unable to share that sense of serenity.  
  
“I’m beginning to think that maybe I shouldn’t go into medicine.”  
  
He blinked the water from his eyes as he looked down at her. It was something she’d been so determined about from the time that he met her, so her uncertainty seemed almost out of the blue to him, but he could tell by the hollowness in her tone that it was something she’d been considering for quite some time. “Why do you say that?”  
  
“I don’t know, it’s just not what I see myself doing for the rest of my life.” Her eyes never met his, they simply stayed glued to his knees. She was afraid she’d catch that hint of judgment in his eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I love all my classes, I just don’t see myself working in a hospital. I do still believe that my purpose in life is to help people, maybe just not in that way.”  
  
“Have you told your mom any of this yet?”  
  
She shook her head. “I already know what she’s gonna say. She’s gonna tell me that I’m lazy, that I’m ruining my life, and that I have no drive.”  
  
Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he gave her a quick squeeze, her damp flesh slippery against his own. “Well, you know I’m in your corner.”  
  
And he meant it. He wanted so badly to be that one person who could love her unconditionally because, even though she tried so hard not to let it show, she had those same wholehearted feelings for him.  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
She turned towards him, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “I just want you to be happy.”  
  
Diverting her gaze, Kandi took his hand in hers and lightly traced the bones with her index finger. “Now, I know this sounds corny to the max, but the only thing I’m absolutely sure I was put on this earth to do would be to be a mom. I mean, if we’re being brutally honest, I know I had a shitty childhood, but I still want that ‘normal’ family, and I know I’d have to put that on hold if I chose to take the doctor route. One day, not anytime soon, but one day, I wanna have kids and I wanna get married.”  
  
She was laying her cards out on the table, and even though she didn’t explicitly mention him, it was the first time he’d ever heard her entertain the idea of the two of them having a real future together. Her budding faith was enough to keep him invested in the relationship, regardless of the miles that kept them apart.  
  
“I never pegged you as buying into all that white picket fence shit.”  
  
“I know it’s hard to believe, but not all of us want to be famous.”  
  
“Damn K, that’s cold.”  
  
Her eyes creased at the corners as she grinned. “Just being honest. So when exactly do you have to be back in L.A.?”  
  
“We don’t start shooting till the twentieth, why? Why do you care so much, McDonald?”  
  
“I was just thinking that maybe you could spare a few days and crash with me back in good ol’ sparkle city.”  
  
A chuckle spilled past his lips. “Can you stand being around me for that long?”  
  
“ _Maybe_ ” she stretched the “a” out in her southern drawl. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”  
  
Her chin tilted upward, and he leaned down to kiss her pursed lips. Freckled arms wove around his neck, and as her fingertips dug into his flesh, he could tell she didn’t want to let him go. Being exposed, showing him that sliver of vulnerability, only made her cling to him even more.  
  
He watched as she slowly pulled away from him, turning away as she stood up and tilted her head back, letting the stream from the shower saturate her dark hair. Logan was quick to sidle up behind her, grasping her hips as his lips lightly brushed against her cheek. He was desperate to convince her that he was worthy of her trust, that he could be that safe place to fall that she needed so badly, that he did love every single fucking inch of her. In all honesty, he didn’t give a fuck if she decided to become a doctor or not, he just wanted her in his life, and it was as simple as that.  
  
As his lips coursed down her neck, he realized that every argument they got into was centered around the fact that they never got to see one another, and if that was their worst problem, he couldn’t help but think that they had something worthwhile. Pressing his lips to the crook of her neck, he caught a whiff of her perfume, the same blend of honeysuckle, coconut, and vanilla that she’d worn since he’d met her, and the familiar scent made his thoughts run wild, bringing him back to nights spent curled up on the couch in his apartment or dancing scandalously in one of L.A.’s hottest nightclubs. His hips arched into her, but his lips refused to stray from her skin, tracing the constellation of fawn freckles across the top of her shoulder before letting his lips drag down her back. Each kiss was light as he cherished the earthy flavor of her skin. Soft and lingering, his lips enveloped the skin along the base of her spine, slowly making his way around to the supple flesh just below her navel.  
  
Her fingers raked through the drenched hair along the top of his head, gently tugging the damp clumps as he gazed up at her.  
  
“Come back here,” she murmured, the plea tugging at her tone.  
  
As much as he wanted to take things further, to give her the same gift she’d given him, Logan knew that it just wasn’t the right time, so he kissed his way back up the pale stretches of her torso. Each press of his lips against her sunburnt skin left a fading patch of white, and though he could feel the heat radiating from her flesh, she didn’t protest the slight pain.  
  
Once he’d made his way back to her lips, he pulled away, pinning her between his forearms against the wall of the shower.  
  
“You know I care about you, right?” he murmured in her ear as his lips brushed against the hinge of her jaw.  
  
“Mhm.” She opened her eyes, staring him dead on as she spoke. “And you know I think you’re amazing.”  
  
“Well, I think that you’re just gonna have to convince me of that.” As soon as he heard himself say the words, he knew he sounded corny.  
  
Kandi didn’t seem to care. It was the raspy sound of his voice that crawled under her skin, and she shifted against the cool tile, hooking her leg around his waist. “And just how do you suggest I do that?”  
  
A faint smile formed across his lips. “I don’t know.”  
  
“Well,” she began, her eyes rolling upward towards the ceiling as she pretended to contemplate the matter. “I’ve always been a sucker for your eyes. Even in the beginning.”  
  
His lips ran along her jaw, silently urging her to continue. “And why’s that?”  
  
He could hear her nervous smile in her voice. “Oh, I don’t know. There’s just something about them….You smile with your eyes, you do know that, right? That’s how I can tell whether you’re being genuine or just smiling out of politeness. Your eyes give you away.”  
  
For once, the always-charming Logan Henderson didn’t know quite how to respond, so he just stared at her. His lips hung open as if he had something to say, but the words never came.  
  
Her thumb brushed against his lower lip. “And those lips. Even when you’re not trying, they look like they’re begging for me to kiss them.”  
  
She kept her eyes open as she leaned forward and her lips melted into his, if only for a moment before she pulled away. It was enough of a kiss to leave him wanting more. “Like that.”  
  
Wickedness seeped through her seemingly innocent smile as she let the bottom of her foot lightly graze his glute. “And that ass, are you _kidding_ me?” She laughed. “You could bounce quarters off of that shit.”  
  
Logan felt his cheeks grow hot, but before he got a chance to look away, her palms clamped his cheeks.  
  
“We’re not perfect. Nobody is, but you’re just right for me, and that’s all that matters.”  
  
That was when he cut her off with a kiss, partly because he could no longer deny the desperate urges beginning to overwhelm his body and partly because he didn’t want to give her the chance to say anything else that would make him feel like a giant sap. That forceful collision of their lips, it was hungry and needy, but it wasn’t animalistic. There was still that underlying tenderness and sense of devotion in each of their subtle movements, but the passion devoured him from the inside out as he pressed her harder against the wall.  
  
Her heel butted against the back of his thigh. “Logan,” she whispered his name harshly, but he could tell it was more because of the unexpectedness of the action than the action in itself.  
  
“What is it?” he found himself whispering back, though he wasn’t sure why they were bothering to keep quiet.  
  
“Just…” her voice trailed off as she struggled to find a way to express herself without hurting his feelings. “Take things slow.”  
  
“Mmkay, sweetie pie, honey bunch,” he sang the name lightly to the tune of the old Temptations hit before erupting into song. “Sugar pie, honey bunch!”  
  
She buried her face into his shoulder, her laughter reverberating against his skin. “Stop it!” she managed through her giggles. “The people in the next room are going to think you’re insane.”  
  
“I don’t care,” he murmured as his fingers toyed with the soaked strands down her back. “I can’t help myself,” he continued to sing, but this serenade was only for her, a soft lullaby in her ear. “I can’t help myself.”  
  
Logan was content to let his lips blend into hers forever as his touch began to explore her body. His tongue ran along her full bottom lip, mimicking the slow slide of his hand up her inner thigh. Her fingers caressed the back of his neck, playing with the little damp curls along the nape of his neck, and as her lips parted, he forced his palm against her in a single sudden motion. Little sounds of pleasure flooded his mouth, and his teeth gently pulled at her lower lip as he broke away.  
  
His lips were eager to find her skin again, moving against her temple, his voice sweet and low as he stroked her. “Don’t worry about it. Just let go.”  
  
He could hear her swallow hard through the stream of the shower, her legs tightening their grip around his waist. As she clung to him, she nestled her face in the crook of his neck because as much as she longed for his touch, she needed him even more.  
  
Logan arched his hips into hers, shuddering as he let himself slowly glide against her. Water from the shower pelted against his back as he tried to steady his hold on her thigh before his hips cranked out that initial thrust. He could hear his own voice echo in the tiled space, rough and ragged as he tried to settle into some sort of rhythm. Kandi’s hips jerked shakily against his, but he could tell she was lacking the support she needed, so she was more than willing to let him take the lead this round.  
  
His shoulder worked to muffle the moans that gushed from her throat as she alternated between sucking along his pulse point and nipping at the delicate skin along his jugular, undeniable pleasure melding with arousing pain. Though he couldn’t just brush off how unbelievably good it felt, all Logan wanted was to hear her say his name in that lazy, achy way of hers.  
  
“Come on, K. Come on,” he tried to coax her gruffly. Thrusting harder, delving deeper, the air escaped his lungs in one long gush as he let his head loll back.  
  
And that’s when he heard it, his name, drawn out and desperate before she continued to mouth his neck. What followed was a stream of hushed expletives, which devolved into a chorus composed of each other’s names and “god, fuck _yes_ ”s that eventually fell apart at the seams into nothing more than needy vowels. When she came, it was almost unexpected for the both of them, but Logan could feel her tighten around him, and he struggled to work her through it until he felt her labored pants transform to one long, breathless sigh. He pressed his lips to her neck as he spilled into her, loosening his grip on her frame. Allowing himself to stumble back towards the opposite wall, his back left a streak in the fogged glass door as he carelessly slid to the floor.  
  
Kandi was quick to curl up beside him, peppering his flushed skin with light kisses even though she was still struggling to catch her own breath. Logan kept his eyes closed, letting the shower trickle over his skin as she reached for her bodywash. After squirting a dollop of gel onto the pink bath pouf, she began to massage the lather into his chest. The scent of sandalwood filled his nostrils as her touch moved from his chest down to his torso before flitting back up to wash his arms.  
  
“You know what?” she started as her fingers kneaded the muscles in his shoulders.  
  
“Hmm?” He glanced over at her, coffee-colored eyes still heavy with lust.  
  
“I could stay here forever.”  
  
Logan wove his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. “You know, I could too.”


End file.
